Data Curator & Content Manager

JOB TITLE:

Content Manager – Data curator

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

Consultant

UNIT/DIVISION:

Food Security and Nutrition Analysis 

DUTY STATION (City, Country):

Rome / Italy

DURATION:

11 months (to commence ASAP)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The Food Security and Nutrition Analysis (PGRF) Service, Geospatial and Intelligence Unit (PGRFG), seeks to fill a statistician position, based at the Headquarters of the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. 

The PGRF Service in WFP HQ leads WFP’s food security analysis and vulnerability monitoring, supporting a large network of analysts in regional bureaux and country offices. Food security analysis is a cornerstone of the organization’s work. It provides WFP, governments and partners with the essential information to identify populations in need and target the most appropriate type and scale of interventions as well as the necessary knowledge to inform policy decisions and advocacy efforts. Analyses span emergency assessments, in-depth household surveys, spatial analysis, early warning information, economic and market trends analyses and food security monitoring. Programme monitoring includes a wide range of data collection and analysis exercises that provide a continuous and timely understanding of the outcomes, outputs and level of compliance of operations.

The Programme Division is the custodian of large portions of WFP’s operational data, including information generated through assessments, food and cash assistance activities, planning processes, and field operations. As data owner, the Division is responsible for ensuring that these data assets are trustworthy, well‑structured, and suitable for reuse across the organization.

This stewardship role involves:

• Defining data standards and governance expectations

The Programme Division establishes the classifications, definitions, documentation requirements, and quality thresholds that apply to operational data. These standards ensure consistency across countries, enable comparison between contexts, and create a shared understanding of what each dataset represents.

• Ensuring quality and completeness of data provided by field operations

Because data routed through WFP’s operational processes is often collected under challenging conditions, the Division plays a key role in guiding country offices on correct data capture, validation, and routine updates. This includes flagging quality issues, supporting corrections, and ensuring that operational datasets remain reliable over time.

• Authorizing access and responsible use

As owner, the Division determines which users or systems may view or use specific operational datasets, in line with corporate data protection practices and any conditions associated with partnerships or data‑sharing agreements.

• Maintaining the long‑term value of data

The Division ensures that datasets remain usable for future analysis by encouraging appropriate documentation, versioning, and preservation of the contextual information needed to interpret data correctly.

By fulfilling these responsibilities, the Programme Division enables the organization to build analyses and decision‑support tools on top of consistent and well‑governed operational data.

The Intelligence Unit ensures that operational data managed by different teams can be combined, shared, and used efficiently across the organization. Its role focuses on enabling systems and datasets to work together without manual intervention.

Key responsibilities include:

• Coordinating integration across platforms by establishing common connection patterns, shared identifiers, and consistent metadata so that data from different domains aligns naturally.
• Maintaining interoperability standards that allow information to move smoothly between tools, reducing duplication and the need for bespoke integrations.
• Improving discoverability and documentation by promoting clear metadata, cataloguing practices, and coherent data descriptions so users can easily locate and understand available datasets.
• Bridging business and technical requirements to ensure that the way data is structured and exchanged reflects operational needs while remaining compatible with enterprise data architecture.
• Promoting reuse by guiding teams to adopt shared structures and avoiding parallel or redundant data pipelines.

Through this combined implementation and coordination role, the Intelligence Unit ensures that operational data becomes a reliable and reusable resource for analysis, reporting, and decision‑making across functions and levels of the organization.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of the Programme Division’s Lead Statistician, and in close coordination with the relevant product teams, the Content Manager & Data Curator will ensure that operational data is consistently documented, well‑structured, and ready for reuse across systems and analytical processes.

1. Strengthen data documentation, structure, and quality

• Maintain and continuously improve metadata, data dictionaries, dataset descriptions, and validation rules to ensure completeness and clarity.
• Work with data owners and field teams to apply standard classifications, reference data, and naming conventions to operational datasets.
• Review incoming datasets for quality, coherence, missing documentation, and alignment with defined standards.

2. Support discoverability and governance of operational data

• Ensure datasets are properly catalogued, tagged, and indexed in relevant repositories and registries.
• Maintain links between datasets, their documentation, their lineage, and relevant business processes.
• Ensure the required access rules, sharing conditions, and license information are properly reflected.

3. Coordinate content preparation for interoperability

• Collaborate with the Intelligence Unit to apply shared metadata structures, identifiers, and schema templates.
• Assist in preparing datasets for integration into standardized access layers and cross‑domain analytical workflows.

4. Provide guidance and capacity support

• Train and support country offices and thematic teams in applying documentation standards and maintaining high‑quality metadata.
• Develop simple reference guides, examples, and templates for data owners and producers.

5. Contribute to continuous improvement

• Monitor the usage, feedback, and gaps in dataset documentation and propose enhancements.
• Work closely with business teams to ensure evolving operational processes are reflected in dataset documentation.
• Support audits, reviews, and data governance assessments as needed.

6. Perform additional tasks

• Undertake any other related duties required to maintain a high-quality data catalogue and ensure effective stewardship of operational data.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

1. Standardized Metadata and Documentation

• Complete metadata templates for all prioritized operational datasets, including definitions, classifications, lineage notes, and usage context.
• A harmonized set of data dictionaries and controlled vocabularies aligned with corporate standards.

2. Structured and Catalogued Data Assets

• Fully documented datasets entered into the designated data catalog or registry with complete metadata, tags, and access conditions.
• A maintained index of available datasets, including updates, version logs, and data quality flags.

3. Quality Review Outputs

• Periodic quality‑assessment reports summarizing gaps, inconsistencies, and recommended improvements for data owners.
• A formalized process for dataset onboarding, including review checklists and documentation completeness assessments.

4. Interoperability‑Ready Dataset Packages

• Datasets prepared according to shared schema templates and reference data, enabling smooth integration across systems.
• Mapping tables and structural alignment notes developed in collaboration with system coordinators.

5. User Guidance and Training Materials

• Easy‑to‑follow guides on dataset documentation, metadata standards, and maintenance workflows.
• Training sessions delivered to country offices and business teams on how to document, catalogue, and maintain operational data.

6. Continuous Updates and Feedback Mechanisms

• A maintained feedback log capturing user input on documentation gaps, discoverability issues, or metadata improvements.
• Updated artefacts reflecting changes in operational processes or new data sources.

7. Periodic Reporting to the Programme Division

• Quarterly reports summarizing documentation progress, dataset coverage, and outstanding risks related to data quality or governance.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced university degree in statistics, information technology, data science or similar relevant discipline.

Experience:

At least three years of relevant post-graduate experience in information technology and economic and/or food security analysis, including:

• Data management, metadata creation, and documentation workflows.
• Structuring and curating datasets (preferably operational, programme, or humanitarian data).
• Applying data quality standards, validation processes, and classification systems.
• Working with data catalogues or knowledge management platforms.

Experience collaborating with technical teams, programme units, or monitoring functions.

Field experience or exposure to operational contexts is an asset.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Strong understanding of metadata standards, data governance concepts, and documentation best practices.
• Proficiency with tools for data documentation, cataloguing, or information‑management workflows.
• Good command of MS Office; familiarity with SQL, XML/JSON schemas, or similar structured‑data formats is an advantage.
• Ability to analyse dataset structures and identify inconsistencies, gaps, or alignment needs.
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to produce clear, concise, user‑friendly documentation.
• Strong organizational skills, accuracy, and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within cross‑functional teams.
• Ability to engage with colleagues of diverse cultural and technical backgrounds.

Languages:

• Fluent written and spoken English (level C);
• Working knowledge (level B) of French, Arabic or Spanish is required.